Dynamic storage device and dynamic access management method

ABSTRACT

A dynamic storage device includes a storage area, a power carrying and moving device, a carrier group, a carrier detection device, a power transmission device, a gate, a gate detection device, a temporary storage area and a temporary storage area detection device. The storage device further includes a central control system for commanding, controlling, instructing and managing the aforementioned components and managing the information returned from each component. A Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) technology is used to implement the dynamic storage device and the dynamic access management method. Basically, the RFID tag is labelled to the carrier instead of the object, and the targets managed by the storage device and dynamic access management method are the carrier and carrier group. Each carrier forming the carrier group records the detailed object information contained in the carrier by the RFID tag, so as to achieve the effects of managing the object, improving the space utilization of the storage device, and recording the storage locations of all objects correctly and completely by the central control system.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to a Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID)technology used for dynamically storing and managing objects.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

In general, an object access management method includes the managementof collecting, retrieving and storing an object. The present objectaccess management method is described briefly below:

In the technology of two-dimensional codes (such as barcodes or QRcodes), a two-dimensional code contains information related to theobject (such as the information including but not limited to objectnumber, producer data, object specification, production time, transferor delivery time, quantity, unit price, total price, tax amount, etc.)In the procedure of collecting an object, a barcode scanner is used toread the information contents of the two-dimensional code of the objectone by one, and the information contents are sent and stored into themanagement system. Alter obtaining the information contents, themanagement system determines and assigns a category to the object andspecifies a storage area and a storage location of the object in aphysical storage device according to the category. The storage areas ofthe physical storage device are also allocated according to thecategory. A storage device manager transports each object to its ownstorage area and storage location according to the specification of amanagement system and finds and retrieves each specific object from itsstorage area and storage location as specified by the management system.

The aforementioned conventional storage device and object accessmanagement method have the following drawbacks:

1. Each object is assigned with a two-dimensional code, and thetwo-dimensional code in form of a label (or a sticker) is attached ontoa surface of the object or its package or carrier, and thus theconventional method and device have the drawbacks of requiring lots oflabor, causing errors easily, and having physical unmatched with thecontent of the two-dimensional code frequently. In addition, the labelof the two-dimensional code may fall off easily. As a result, the objectcannot be accessed or managed. In addition, the original label may bepeeled off, changed, or tampered easily.

2. When the object is collected, it is necessary to scan thetwo-dimensional codes of the objects one by one. This also requires alot of man-hours, and the scan of some objects may be missed, and thusthe actual collected object may be inconsistent with the data registeredin the management system.

3. Although the storage device management system has specified thestorage area and storage location of the object, it cannot absolutelyavoid the issue of storing the object into a wrong storage location by astorage device manager (or a natural person). If the number of physicalstorage devices is huge, the traffic flow is complicated, and the objectis stored into a wrong storage location, then it will be difficult tofind the object, and thus the statistics of the object will beinconsistent with the data registered in the management system.

The storage area and storage location of the physical storage device arealso allocated according to category. When less or more objects of acertain category are collected or retrieved, the storage area for suchcategory will have too many storage areas left, but the extra storageareas cannot be used for the storage of objects of other categories, orwhen more objects of a certain category are accessed, and the storagearea is insufficient for the use, the objects overflown from the storagearea will have no appropriate storage area for their storage. Obviously,such storage device management system cannot use the storage area of thephysical storage device effectively. Although the storage area can beused flexibly by programming the storage area in the management system,yet repeated changes of the storage area of the management system maycause possible confusions of the management.

5. To facilitate collecting and retrieving an object, it is necessary toreserve a passage between the storage areas or storage locations of thephysical storage device to allow the storage device manager ortransportation device to pass through, and such arrangement may easilycause chaos of traffic flow during the collection and retrieval of theobject and may reduce the usable area of the storage area.

The Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) technology replacing thetwo-dimensional code for the management of the storage device canovercome the aforementioned first and second issues, but if thecategorization and storage of the object and the way of retrieving theobject are still the same as described above, then the aforementionedthird, fourth and fifth issues still cannot be solved.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To overcome the aforementioned issues, this invention provides a dynamicstorage device and a dynamic access management method.

The dynamic storage device comprises:

a central control system;

at least one storage area, having a plurality of power carrying andmoving devices disposed therein, and the central control systemcontrolling the moving trip, direction and predetermined stop positionof the power carrying and moving device; each power carrying and movingdevice having a predetermined number of storage locations, and thestorage locations being recorded by the central control system; eachstorage location having a carrier group randomly disposed therein; thecarrier group being formed by a predetermined number of stackedcarriers; the carrier carrying an object; each carrier having a RadioFrequency Identification (RFID) tag attached thereto, and the tag havingtag information that could be written and read repeatedly; and the taginformation including object data recorded in the carrier;

a carrier detection device, installed in the storage area, for sending adetected result of each storage location with or without a carriergroup, and each read tag information of the carrier group to the centralcontrol system; and the central control system recording the taginformation of each carrier group according to the storage location;

a power transmission device, communicating to the power carrying andmoving device; the central control system controlling the movement andstop of the power transmission device; the power transmission device andthe power carrying and moving device controlling the carrier group toenter into a storage location specified by the central control system;the power transmission device and the power carrying and moving devicecontrolling the carrier group to move out from the storage location;

at least one gate, communicating to the transmission device; the carriergroup to be moved out from the storage area or entered into the storagearea being disposed at the gate; the gate having a gate detection devicefor sending the gate with or without the carrier group, the quantity ofcarriers contained in the carrier group, and each tag information of thecarrier group to the central control system; and

at least one temporary storage area, communicating to the gate, forreceiving carrier group coming from the gate and having the quantity ofcarriers less than the predetermined value; the temporary storage areahaving a temporary storage detection device for sending the carriergroup, the quantity of carriers in the carrier group, and each taginformation of the carrier group to the central control system.

A dynamic access management method based on the aforementioned dynamicstorage device comprises the following steps:

(Step 1) The gate receives a carrier group created according to anobject access flow;

(Step 2) The gate detection device detects the quantity of carrierscontained in the carrier group and sends the quantity of carriers to thecentral control system, and the central control system compares thequantity of carriers with a predetermined value;

(Step 3) The central control system instructs the power transmissiondevice to move the carrier group of the gate to the temporary storagearea if the quantity of carriers is less than the predetermined value;and the central control system instructs the power transmission deviceand the power carrying and moving device to send the carrier group ofthe gate to an empty storage location specified by the central controlsystem if the quantity of carriers is equal to the predetermined value;and the central control system issues a warning message not to operatethe power carrying and moving device and the power transmission deviceuntil extra carriers are removed if the quantity of carriers is greaterthan the predetermined value; and

(Step 4) The corresponding carrier detection device sends the taginformation of each carrier group to the central control system andrecords the tag information after the empty storage location receivesthe carrier group from the gate.

An object retrieval method based on the aforementioned dynamic accessmanagement method comprises the steps of:

(Step 1) The central control system searches each tag information of thestorage area according to the retrieval condition included in an objectretrieval instruction;

(Step 2) The central control system indicates the storage location of acarrier group matched with the object retrieval condition;

(Step 3) The central control system controls the power transmissiondevice and the power carrying and moving device to take out the carriergroup from the indicated storage location, and automatically deletes thetag information of the storage location automatically when the carriergroup leaves its storage location;

(Step 4) The central control system controls the power transmissiondevice to transmit the carrier group taken out from the storage locationto the gate, and a storage device manager removes the carrier group fromthe gate or takes out one or more carriers matched with the objectretrieval condition from the carrier group;

(Step 5) The central control system instructs the power transmissiondevice to move the remaining carrier to the temporary storage area afterthe object is retrieved, if the carrier not matched with the objectretrieval condition is remained at the gate and not taken away;

(Step 6) The temporary storage detection device receives the remainingcarrier from the gate to the temporary storage area, and sending andrecording the temporary storage area with or without the carrier group,the quantity of carriers of the carrier group, and each tag informationof the carrier group to the central control system.

A temporary storage area management method based on the aforementioneddynamic access management method comprises the steps of:

(Step 1) randomly selecting a carrier in the temporary storage area, andstacking the carriers to a predetermined number to form a carrier group;

(Step 2) sending the carrier group of the temporary storage area to thegate, and deleting the tag information of the carrier group from thetemporary storage area by the central control system; detecting thequantity of carriers contained in the carrier group coming from thetemporary storage area by the gate detection device and sending thequantity of carriers to the central control system, and comparing thequantity of carriers with a predetermined value by the central controlsystem;

(Step 3) instructing the power transmission device to return the carriergroup of the gate to the temporary storage area by the central controlsystem if the quantity of carriers is less than the predetermined value;instructing the power transmission device and the power carrying andmoving device by the central control system to send the carrier group ofthe gate to an empty storage location specified by the central controlsystem if the quantity of carriers is equal to the predetermined value;and issuing a warning message not to operate the power carrying andmoving device and the power transmission device by the central controlsystem until the extra carrier is removed if the quantity of carriers isgreater than the predetermined value; and

(Step 4) sending and recording each tag information of the storagelocation to the central control system by the carrier detection deviceafter receiving the carrier group removed from the temporary storagearea by the empty storage location.

This invention has the following effects:

The RFID tag is a tag that allows repeated writing and reading and thusit can avoid the repeated tearing and sticking of the tag by the storagedevice manager. The tag information is the object data recorded into thecarrier, and when the object of the carrier is changed, the original taginformation should be removed before new tag information is rewritten.

In this invention, the RFID tag is adhered onto the carrier instead ofthe object. The storage device and various targets managed by thestorage device of this invention are carriers and carrier groups. Sinceeach carrier for forming the carrier group has detailed objectinformation recorded in the RFID tag, therefore the management of thecarrier and the carrier group can also achieve the effect of managingthe object.

In an object collection process, the carrier group is created, andbefore each carrier is entered into the storage device, it is necessaryto assign a RFID tag and establish complete tag information. In thiscontext, a storage device manager does not need to know the content ofthe object or categorize the object during the object collectionprocess, but simply needs to stack a predetermined number of carriersvertically to form the aforementioned carrier group.

In the dynamic access management method of this invention, the storagearea, the storage location, the carrier group and the carrier arearranged dynamically without requiring previous categorization or otherarrangements.

The dynamic access management method of this invention ensures that eachstorage location has two modes, one with a carrier group and the otherone without a carrier group (empty), and each carrier group has a numberof carriers specified by the central control system, so that the dynamicaccess management method can fully utilize the storage locations in thestorage area. The utilization of storage areas is improved, so that thecentral control system can record all objects of each carrier in theirstorage areas without missing any record.

Therefore, this invention can overcome the drawbacks of the prior art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a planar top view of a dynamic storage device in accordancewith a first embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a carrier group of this invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of Section III-III of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a first schematic view of a dynamic access management methodin accordance with the first embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 5 is a second schematic view of a dynamic access management methodin accordance with the first embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 6 is a first schematic view of an object retrieval method inaccordance with the first embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 7 is a second schematic view of an object retrieval method inaccordance with the first embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 8 is a first schematic view of a temporary storage area managementmethod in accordance with the first embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 9 is a second schematic view of a temporary storage area managementmethod in accordance with the first embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 10 is a third schematic view of a temporary storage area managementmethod in accordance with the first embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 11 is a fourth schematic view of a temporary storage areamanagement method in accordance with the first embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 12 is a planar top view of a dynamic storage device in accordancewith a second embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 13 is a first schematic view of a device storage method inaccordance with the second embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 14 is a second schematic view of a device storage method inaccordance with the second embodiment of this invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF NUMERALS USED IN THE DRAWINGS

10: Central control system; 20: Storage area; 21: Storage location; 22:Carrier detection device; 30: Carrier group; 31: Carrier; 32: Tag; 40:Power carrying and moving device; 41: Power transmission device; 50:Gate; 51: Gate detection device; 60: Temporary storage area; 61:Temporary storage detection device; 100: Central control system; 200:Storage area; 210: Storage location; 220: Carrier detection device; 410:Power transmission device; 411: X-axis track; 412: Y-axis track; 413:hoist; 500: Gate; 510: Gate detection device; 600: Temporary storagearea; 610: Temporary storage detection device.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

To facilitate the description of the technical content of thisinvention, embodiments are used, and it is noteworthy that theproportion, dimensions, and amount of movement of each component, area,or device of the embodiments are drawn for the purpose of illustratingthis invention only, but they are not necessary of the actual size orintended for limiting the scope of the invention.

FIRST EMBODIMENT

This invention primarily includes a dynamic storage device and a dynamicaccess management method (including the processes of object collection,object retrieval, and object storage and the management of the temporarystorage area) as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3.

The dynamic storage device comprises a storage area 20, a power carryingand moving device 40, a carrier group 30, a carrier detection device 22,a power transmission device 41, a gate 50, a gate detection device 51, atemporary storage area 60 and a temporary storage detection device 61.The storage device further comprises a central control system 10 forcommanding, controlling, instructing and managing the operation of theaforementioned components, and managing the information retuned fromeach device. The power carrying and moving device 40 and the powertransmission device 4 are power roller conveyors.

The storage area 20 includes the plurality of power carrying and movingdevices 40, and the central control system 10 controls the direction andpredetermined stop position of the power carrying and moving device 40by programming; each power carrying and moving device 40 has apredetermined number of storage locations 21, and the storage location21 is recorded by the central control system 10; and each storagelocation 21 can receive a carrier group 30.

The carrier group 30 is formed by stacking a predetermined number ofcarriers 31; the carrier 31 includes but not limited to a basket, apallet, a cabinet, a box, or any object carrying structure, but a commoncondition is that they can be stacked stably and securely. One or morekinds of objects may be contained in the carrier 31. Each carrier 31 isattached to a Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) tag 32, and the tag32 is capable of reading and writing tag information repeatedly; and thetag information is object data recorded in the carrier 31. The objectdata includes but not limited to object number, producer data, objectspecification, production time, transfer or delivery time, quantity,unit price, total price, tax amount, etc.

The carrier detection device 22 is installed in the storage area 20 fordetecting whether or not each storage location 21 has a carrier group30, reading each tag information of the carrier group 30, and sendingthe detected and read result to the central control system 10. Thecentral control system 10 records each tag information of each carriergroup 30 according to the storage location 21. Therefore, the centralcontrol system 10 clearly records each carrier 31 disposed at aspecified storage location 21 of a specified storage area 20, and anobject (or object set) stored in each storage location 21.

The power transmission device 41 is communicated to the powertransmission device 41 and the power carrying and moving device 40through the prior art and conventional devices. The central controlsystem 10 controls the direction and predetermined stop position of thepower transmission device 41; the power transmission device 41 and thepower carrying and moving device 40 control a carrier group 30 to entera storage location 21 specified by the central control system 10; thepower transmission device 41 and the power carrying and moving device 40also control a carrier group 30 to move from its own storage location21.

The gate 50 is communicated to the transmission device and serves as athroughput for object collection and object retrieval. A carrier group30 to be removed from or entered into the storage area 20 is placed atthe gate 50.

The gate detection device 51 sends the gate 50 with or without thecarrier group 30, the quantity of carriers 31 contained in the carriergroup 30 and each tag information of the carrier group 30 to the centralcontrol system 10 to facilitate the central control system 10 to managethe detailed location of each carrier 31.

The temporary storage area 60 is communicated to the gate 50 forreceiving the carrier groups 30 coming from the gate 50 and not having aquantity of carriers 31 equal to the predetermined value.

The temporary storage detection device 61 sends the temporary storagearea 60 with or without the carrier group 30, the quantity of carriers31 of the carrier group 30, and each tag information of the carriergroup 30 to the central control system 10 to facilitate the centralcontrol system 10 to manage the detailed location of each carrier 31.

This invention adopts a RFID tag 32 that can be read and writtenrepeatedly to avoid the situation of tearing and sticking the tag by thestorage device manager frequently as well as the problems of sticking awrong tag or peeling off the tag. The tag information is the object datarecorded in the carrier 31. When the object of the carrier 31 ischanged, it is necessary to remove the original tag information, andrewrite new tag information.

There are various management methods and programming designs of thestorage area 20 and storage location 21, and they can be changedaccording to different power carrying and moving devices 40 and powertransmission devices 41. Based on the requirements as described in thespecification, this invention uses an embodiment to illustrate themethod of this invention, but the embodiment is not intended forlimiting the method of the invention. For example, an exclusive code(such as capitalized letters A, B, C, etc.) is assigned to a storagearea 20; an exclusive code (such as Arabic numerals 01, 02, 03, 04,etc.) is assigned to each storage location 21; so that “A01” representsStorage Location No. 01 in Storage Area A, and A09 represents StorageLocation No. 09 in Storage area A; and these exclusive codes arerecorded in the central control system 10.

The storage device creates a carrier group 30 during the objectcollection process. Before entering into the storage device, eachcarrier 31 is assigned with a RFD tag 32 and complete tag information isestablished. In this context, a storage device manager does not need toknow the content of the object or categorize the object during theobject collection process, but simply needs to stack a predeterminednumber (such as six preset by the central control system 10) of carriers31 vertically to form the aforementioned carrier group 30. Each carrier31 has a RFID tag 32, and the tag information is the object data (suchas lower case letters a, b, c, etc.), and carriers 31 of the carriergroup 30 are created randomly without any categorization or arrangement.If a carrier group 30 includes six carriers 31, then there will be sixpieces of tag information a, h, c, d, e, f, and this carrier group 30will be stored in the aforementioned A01 position, and the carrierdetection device 22 will read and send the storage location 21 and taginformation to the central control system 10, and the central controlsystem 10 will attach the six pieces of tag information to the positionA01 and record the tag information. In other words, a storage location21 having tag information in the central control system 10 is one havinga carrier group 30; and a storage location 21 without any taginformation is an empty storage location 211.

In FIGS. 4 and 5, the dynamic access management method (regarding to theobject collection process management) can be implemented by theprinciple for creating the aforementioned devices and carrier group 30,and the dynamic access management method comprises:

(Step 1) receiving a carrier group 30 created according to theaforementioned object collection process by the gate 50;

(Step 2) detecting the quantity of carriers 31 of the gate 50 containedin the carrier group 30 by the gate detection device 51 and sending thequantity of carriers 31 to the central control system 10, and comparingthe quantity of carriers 31 with a predetermined value by the centralcontrol system 10;

(Step 3) instructing the power transmission device 41 to move thecarrier group 30 with insufficient quantity of carriers 31 to thetemporary storage area 60 and not to enter into the storage area 20 bythe central control system 10 if the quantity of carriers 31 is smallerthan the predetermined value; instructing the power transmission device41 and the power carrying and moving device 40 by the central controlsystem 10 to send the carrier group 30 of the gate 50 to an emptystorage location 21 specified by the central control system 10 if thequantity of carriers 31 is not equal to the predetermined value; andissuing a warning message by the central control system 10 to instructthe power carrying and moving device 40 and the power transmissiondevice 41 not to operate but wait for a storage device manager to removethe extra carrier 31 if the quantity of carriers 31 is greater than thepredetermined value;

(Step 4) sending and recording the storage location 21 and taginformation to the central control system 10 by the carrier detectiondevice 22, after receiving the carrier group 30 coming from the gate 50by the empty storage location 21.

The dynamic access management method of this invention ensures that eachstorage location 21 has two modes, one with a carrier group 30 and theother one without a carrier group 30 (empty), and each carrier group 30has a number of carriers 31 specified by the central control system 10,so that the dynamic access management method and the storage devices canfill up all storage locations 21 of the storage area and fully utilizethe storage locations in the storage area. The central control system 10manages the location information and tag information of what objectstored in each storage location 21. The central control system 10ensures that all objects in each carrier 31 are recorded into theirstorage locations 21 without missing any record. In the dynamic accessmanagement method of this invention, the placement of storage areas 20,storage locations 21, carrier group 30, and carrier 31 are manageddynamically without requiring previous categorization and arrangement.

In FIGS. 6 and 7, an object retrieval method based on the aforementionedstorage device and dynamic access management method of this inventioncomprises:

(Step 1) The central control system 10 searches each tag information ofthe storage area according to the retrieval condition included in anobject retrieval instruction; the central control system 10;

(Step 2) The central control system 10 indicates the storage location 21of a carrier group 30 matched with the object retrieval condition,wherein there may be one or more storage locations 21, since thecarriers 31 matched with the object retrieval condition are randomlydistributed in the storage area 20;

(Step 3) The central control system 10 controls the power transmissiondevice 41 and the power carrying and moving device 40 to take out thecarrier group 30 from the indicated storage location 21, andautomatically deletes the tag information of the storage location 21automatically when the carrier group 30 leaves its storage location 21,and in Step 2, if several storage locations have the carriers 31 matchedwith the object retrieval condition, then the power transmission device41 and the power carrying and moving device 40 will remove the carriergroups 30 from the storage locations 21 specified by the central controlsystem 10 one by one sequentially;

(Step 4) The central control system 10 controls the power transmissiondevice 41 to transmit the carrier group 30 taken out from the storagelocation 21 to the gate 50, and an object retriever (who may be anatural person or a robot) removes the carrier group 30 from the gate 50or takes out one or more carriers 31 matched with the object retrievalcondition from the carrier group 30, wherein if the object retriever isa robot in this embodiment, then the central control system 10 will sendthe data of the tag 32 of the object retriever to the robot in advance,and the robot will find and take out the target carrier 31 quicklyaccording to the data of the tag 32; if the object retriever is anatural person, then a RFID reader may be used to read the tag 32 toconfirm the target carrier 31; and after the gate detection device 51has read the tag information, the target carrier 31 will be displayedand provided for a natural person who is an object retriever to retrievethe target carrier 31;

(Step 5) The central control system 10 instructs the power transmissiondevice 41 to move the remaining carrier 31 to the temporary storage area60 after the object is retrieved, if the gate has any remained carrier31 not matched with the object retrieval condition and not taken away;and

(Step 6) The temporary storage detection device 60 receives theremaining carrier 31 from the gate 50 to the temporary storage area 60,and sending and recording the temporary storage area 60 with or withoutthe carrier group 30, the quantity of carriers 31 of the carrier group30, and each tag information of the carrier group 30 to the centralcontrol system 10 to facilitate the central control system 10 to manageeach carrier 31 definitely in detail.

Based on the aforementioned purpose, the object retrieval method of thisinvention ensures that each storage location 21 has two modes, one witha carrier group 30 and the other one without a carrier group 30 (empty),and each carrier group 30 has a number of carriers 311 specified by thecentral control system 10, so that the storage device and method canfill up each storage location 21 of the storage area 20. The carriergroup 30 with insufficient quantity of carriers 31 is arranged in thetemporary storage area 60 and still controlled and managed by thecentral control system 10.

With reference to FIGS. 8 to 11 for a temporary storage area managementmethod based on the aforementioned storage device and dynamic accessmanagement method of this invention, the temporary storage areamanagement method comprises the steps of:

(Step 1) randomly selecting a carrier 31 in the temporary storage area60, and stacking the carriers to a predetermined number to form acarrier group 30, wherein the carrier group 30 is created as describedin Paragraph 15 of the specification of this invention;

(Step 2) moving the carrier group 30 of the temporary storage area 60 tothe gate 50, and the carrier group 30 leaving the temporary storage area60, and removing the tag information of the carrier group 30 from thetemporary storage area 60; the gate detection device 51 detecting andsending the quantity of carriers 31 contained in the carrier group 30and coming from the temporary storage area 60 to the central controlsystem 10, and the central control system 10 comparing the quantity ofcarriers 31 with a predetermined value;

(Step 3) instructing the power transmission device 41 to move thecarrier group 30 with insufficient carriers 31 to the temporary storagearea 60 and not to enter into the storage area 20 by the central controlsystem 10 if the quantity of carriers 31 is less than a predeterminedvalue; instructing the power transmission device 41 and the powercarrying and moving device 40 by the central control system 10 to sendthe carrier group 30 of the gate 50 to an empty storage location 21specified by the central control system 10 if the quantity of carriers31 is equal to the predetermined value; and issuing a warning message bythe central control system 10 to instruct the power carrying and movingdevice 40 and the power transmission device 41 not to operate, but towait for a storage device manager to remove extra carrier 31 if thequantity of carriers 31 is greater than the predetermined value; and

(Step 4) sending and recording each tag information of the storagelocation 21 to the central control system 10 by the carrier detectiondevice 22 after receiving the carrier group 30 removed from thetemporary storage area 60 by the empty storage location 21.

In the temporary storage area management method of this invention,scattered carriers 31 in the temporary storage area 60 are integrated tobuild one or more complete carrier groups 30, and this method stillupholds the purpose of creating the carrier group 30, and the storagedevice manager needs not to know about the objects of the carrier 31 inthe temporary storage area 60 or categorize the objects in the temporarystorage area 60 in advance carrier, and the storage device managementsimply needs stack a predetermined number of carrier 31 vertically toform a carrier group 30. The positions for placing the carrier groups 30and carriers 31 are specified dynamically without previouscategorization or arrangement. The scattered carriers 31 in thetemporary storage area 60 are integrated into a carrier group 30 whichis sent back to the storage area 20 for storage, and such arrangementstill upholds the aforementioned purpose and ensures that each storagelocation 21 only have two modes, one with a carrier group 30 and theother one without a carrier group 30 (empty), and each carrier group 30has a number of carriers 31 specified by the central control system 10,so that the storage device and method can fully utilize each storagelocation 21 of the storage area 20.

SECOND EMBODIMENT

The major difference between the first and second embodiments of thisinvention resides on that the storage area of the second embodiment doesnot have the power carrying and moving device and the power transmissiondevice for moving the carrier group is a crane. Other components such asthe carrier group 30, carrier detection device 22, gate 50, gatedetection device 51, temporary storage area 60 and temporary storagedetection device 61 are the same as those of the first embodiment andthus their description will not be repeated.

In FIGS. 12 to 14, a predetermined number of storage locations 210 arecreated in the storage area 200 of the second embodiment, and thestorage locations 210 are recorded by the central control system 100,and a carrier group 30 may be placed in each storage location 210. Inthe second embodiment, the power transmission device 410 is a crane. Inthe figures, a Y-axis track 412 of the crane is disclosed, an X-axistrack 411 is operated reciprocally along the Y-axis track 412, and ahoist 413 is operated reciprocally along the X-axis track 411 andcapable of ascending/descending vertically (in the direction of theZ-axis). The central control system 100 controls the X-, Y- and Z-axesmovement of the hoist 413, so that the hoist 423 can carry the carriergroup 30 to move to a range above the storage location 210, the gate 50,or the temporary storage area 60, or access the carrier group 30 at thestorage location 210, the gate 50, or the temporary storage area 60.

To support the claims of this invention by the specification, the secondembodiment of this invention includes a dynamic storage device and adynamic access management method (including the processes of objectcollection, object retrieval, object storage and the management oftemporary storage areas) as described below:

The dynamic storage device of the second embodiment comprises:

a central control system 100;

a storage area 200, having a predetermined number of storage locations210, and the storage locations 210 being recorded by the central controlsystem 100, and each storage location 210 being provided for randomlyplacing a carrier group 30;

a carrier detection device 200, installed in the storage area 200, forsending a detected result of each storage location 210 with or without acarrier group 30, and each read tag information of the carrier group 30to the central control system 100; and the central control system 100recording the tag information of each carrier group 30 according to thestorage location 210;

a power transmission device 410, controlled by the central controlsystem 100 to displace to move the carrier group 30 into one or morestorage locations 210 or take out the carrier group 30 from one or morestorage locations 210 specified by the central control system 100;

a gate 500, disposed adjacent to the storage area 200; the carrier group30 removed from or entered into the storage area 200 being disposed atthe gate 500; the gate 500 having a gate detection device 510 forsending the gate 500 with or without the carrier group 30, the quantityof carriers 31 contained in the carrier group 30, and each taginformation of the carrier group 30 to the central control system 100;

a temporary storage area 600, communicating to the gate 500, forreceiving carrier group 30 coming from the gate 500 and having thequantity of carriers 31 less than the predetermined value; the temporarystorage area 600 having a temporary storage detection device 610 forsending the temporary storage area 600 of the carrier group 30, thequantity of carriers 31 in the carrier group 30, and each taginformation of the carrier group 30 to the central control system 100.

The dynamic access management method of the second embodiment comprisesthe steps of:

(Step 1) receiving a carrier group 30 created in an object collectionprocess by the gate 500;

(Step 2) detecting and sending the quantity of carriers 31 contained inthe carrier group 30 of the gate 500 to the central control system 100by the gate detection device 510, and comparing the quantity of carriers31 with a predetermined value by the central control system 100;

(Step 3): instructing the power transmission device 410 to move thecarrier group 30 of the gate 500 to the temporary storage area 600 bythe central control system 100 if the quantity of carriers 31 is lessthan the predetermined value; instructing the power transmission device410 to move the carrier group 30 of the gate 500 to an empty storagelocation 210 specified by the central control system 100 if the quantityof carriers 31 is equal to the predetermined value, by the centralcontrol system 100; and issuing a warning message by the central controlsystem 100 to instruct the power carrying and moving device not tooperate until the extra carrier 31 is removed if the quantity ofcarriers 31 is greater than the predetermined value; and

(Step 4) sending and recording each tag information of the carrier group30 to the central control system 100 by the carrier detection device 200corresponding to the empty storage location 210 after receiving thecarrier group 30 coming from the gate 500.

The object retrieval method of the second embodiment comprises:

(Step 1) searching each tag information of the storage area 200according to an object retrieval condition of an object retrievalinstruction by the central control system 100;

(Step 2) specifying a storage location 21 of the carrier group 300matched with the object retrieval condition by the central controlsystem 100;

(Step 3) controlling the power transmission device 410 to take out thecarrier group 30 from the specified storage location 210 by the centralcontrol system 100, and deleting the tag information of the storagelocation 210 automatically when the carrier group 30 leaves its storagelocation 210;

(Step 4) controlling the power transmission device 410 to move thecarrier group 30 taken out from the storage location 210 to the gate 500by the central control system 100, and taking the carrier group 30 awayfrom the gate 500 or one or more carriers 31 matched with the objectretrieval condition from the carrier group 30 by an object retriever;

(Step 5) instructing the power transmission device 410 to move theremaining carrier 31 to the temporary storage area 600 by the centralcontrol system 100 after retrieving the object, if the gate 500 hascarriers 31 not matched with the object retrieval condition and nottaken away;

(Step 6) receiving the remaining carrier 31 from the gate 500 to thetemporary storage area 600, and sending and recording the temporarystorage area 600 with or without the carrier group 30, the quantity ofcarriers 31 of the carrier group 30, and each tag information of thecarrier group 30 to the central control system 100 by the temporarystorage detection device 600.

The temporary storage area 600 management method of the secondembodiment comprises the steps of:

(Step 1) randomly selecting a carrier 31 in the temporary storage area600, and stacking a predetermined number of carriers 321 to form acarrier group 30;

(Step 2) instructing the power transmission device 410 to move thecarrier group 30 of the temporary storage area 600 to the gate 500 bythe central control system 100, and the carrier group 30 leaving thetemporary storage area 600, and deleting the tag information of thecarrier group 30 from the temporary storage area 600; detecting andsending the quantity of carriers 31 coming from the temporary storagearea 600 and contained in the carrier group 30 to the central controlsystem 100 by the gate detection device 510, and comparing the quantityof carriers 31 with a predetermined value by the central control system100;

(Step 3) instructing the power transmission device 410 to return thecarrier group 30 of the gate 500 to the temporary storage area 600 bythe central control system 100 if the quantity of carriers 31 is lessthan the predetermined value; instructing the power transmission device410 by the central control system 100 to send the carrier group 30 ofthe gate 500 to an empty storage location 210 specified by the centralcontrol system 100 if the quantity of carriers 31 is equal to thepredetermined value; and issuing a warning message to instruct the powercarrying and moving device not to operate until removing the extracarrier 31 by the central control system 100 if the quantity of carriers31 is greater than predetermined value;

(Step 4): sending and recording each tag information of the storagelocation 210 to the central control system 100 by the carrier detectiondevice 200 after the empty storage location 210 receives the carriergroup 30 moved from the temporary storage area 600.

What is claimed is:
 1. A dynamic storage device, comprising: a centralcontrol system; at least one storage area, having a plurality of powercarrying and moving devices, and the central control system controllingthe direction and predetermined stop position of the power carrying andmoving device; each power carrying and moving device having apredetermined number of storage location, and the storage location beingrecorded by the central control system; each storage location beingdynamically specified for placing a carrier group; the carrier groupbeing formed by stacking a predetermined number of carriers; the carriercarrying an object; each carrier being attached with a Radio FrequencyIdentification (RFID) tag, and the RFID tag having tag information thatcan be written and read repeatedly; the tag information recording objectdata of the carrier; a carrier detection device, installed in thestorage area, for sending a detection result of each storage locationwith or without the carrier group, and reading and sending each taginformation read by the carrier group to the central control system; thecentral control system recording the tag information of each carriergroup according to the storage location; a power transmission device,communicating to the power carrying and moving device; the centralcontrol system controlling the power transmission device to move andstop; the power transmission device and the power carrying and movingdevice controlling the carrier group to enter a storage locationspecified by the central control system; and the power transmissiondevice and the power carrying and moving device also controlling thecarrier group to move out from its storage location; at least one gate,communicating to the transmission device; for moving the carrier groupdisposed at the gate to move out from the storage area or enter into thestorage area; the gate having a gate detection device, and the gatedetection device sending the gate with or without the carrier group, thequantity of carriers contained in the carrier group, and each taginformation of the carrier group to the central control system; at leastone temporary storage area, communicating to the gate, for receiving thecarrier group coming from the gate and having a quantity of carriersless than the predetermined value; the temporary storage area having atemporary storage detection device installed therein and provided forsending the temporary storage area with or without the carrier group,the quantity of carriers of the carrier group, and each tag informationof the carrier group to the central control system.
 2. The dynamicstorage device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the power carrying andmoving device and the power transmission device are power rollerconveyors.
 3. A dynamic access management method of the device asclaimed in claim 1, comprising the steps of: (Step 1) receiving acarrier group created through an object collection process by the gate;(Step 2) detecting and sending a quantity of carriers contained in thecarrier group of the gate to the central control system by the gatedetection device, and comparing the quantity of carriers with apredetermined value by the central control system; (Step 3) instructingthe power transmission device to move the carrier group of the gate tothe temporary storage area by the central control system if the quantityof carriers is less than the predetermined value; instructing the powertransmission device and the power carrying and moving device by thecentral control system to send the carrier group of the gate to an emptystorage location specified by the central control system if the quantityof carriers is equal to the predetermined value; and issuing a warningmessage by the central control system to instruct the power carrying andmoving device and the power transmission device not to operate until theextra carrier is removed if the quantity of carriers is greater thanpredetermined value; and (Step 4) sending and recording each taginformation of the carrier group to the central control system by thecarrier detection device corresponding to the empty storage locationafter receiving the carrier group coming from the gate.
 4. An objectretrieval method of the dynamic access management method as claimed inclaim 2, comprising: (Step 1) searching each tag information of thestorage area by the central control system according to an objectretrieval condition contained in an object retrieval instruction; (Step2) specifying a storage location of a carrier group matched with theobject retrieval condition by the central control system; (Step 3)controlling the power transmission device and the power carrying andmoving device by the central control system to take out a carrier groupfrom the specified storage location, and deleting the tag information ofthe storage location automatically when the carrier group leaves itsstorage location; (Step 4) controlling the power transmission device bythe central control system to send the carrier group taken out from thestorage location to the gate, and taking out the carrier group from thegate or one or more carriers matched with the object retrieval conditionfrom the carrier group by an object retriever; (Step 5) instructing thepower transmission device by the central control system to move theremaining carrier to the temporary storage area after retrieving theobject, if the gate has a carrier not matched with the object retrievalcondition and not taken away; and (Step 6) receiving the remainingcarrier from the gate by the temporary storage area, and sending andrecording the carrier group with or without the temporary storage area,the quantity of carriers of the carrier group, and each tag informationof the carrier group to the central control system by the temporarystorage detection device.
 5. A temporary storage area management methodof the dynamic access management method as claimed in claim 2,comprising the steps of: (Step 1) randomly selecting a carrier in thetemporary storage area, and stacking the carriers to a predeterminednumber to form a carrier group; (Step 2) sending the carrier group ofthe temporary storage area to the gate, and the carrier group leavingthe temporary storage area, and removing the tag information of thecarrier group from the temporary storage area; the gate detection devicedetecting and sending the quantity of carriers contained in the carriergroup and coming from the temporary storage area to the central controlsystem, and the central control system comparing the quantity ofcarriers with a predetermined value; (Step 3) instructing the powertransmission device to return the carrier group of the gate to thetemporary storage area by the central control system if the quantity ofcarriers is less than the predetermined value; instructing the powertransmission device and the power carrying and moving device by thecentral control system to send the carrier group of the gate to an emptystorage location specified by the central control system if the quantityof carriers is equal to the predetermined value; and issuing a warningmessage not to operate the power carrying and moving device and thepower transmission device by the central control system until the extracarrier is removed if the quantity of carriers is greater than thepredetermined value; and (Step 4) sending and recording each taginformation of the storage location to the central control system by thecarrier detection device after receiving the carrier group removed fromthe temporary storage area by the empty storage location.
 6. A dynamicstorage device, comprising: a central control system; at least onestorage area, having a predetermined number of storage locations, andthe storage location being recorded by the central control system; eachstorage location being capable of randomly placing a carrier group; thecarrier group being formed by a predetermined number of randomly stackedcarriers; the carrier carrying an object; each carrier being attachedwith a (Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag, and the RFID taghaving tag information that can be read and written repeatedly; the taginformation being object data recorded in the carrier; a carrierdetection device, installed in the storage area, for sending a detectionresult of each storage location with or without a carrier group, andreading and sending each tag information of the carrier group to thecentral control system; the central control system recording the taginformation of each carrier group according to the storage location; apower transmission device, the central control system controlling thepower transmission device to displace to place the carrier group into astorage location specified by the central control system or remove thecarrier group from the storage location specified by the central controlsystem; at least one gate, adjacent to the storage area; the carriergroup removed from the storage area or to be entered into the storagearea being disposed at the gate; the gate having a gate detection devicefor sending the gate with or without the carrier group, the quantity ofcarriers contained in the carrier group, and each tag information of thecarrier group to the central control system; and at least one temporarystorage area, communicating to the gate, for receiving the carrier groupcoming from the gate and having a quantity of carriers less than thepredetermined value; the temporary storage area having a temporarystorage detection device installed therein and provided for sending thetemporary storage area with or without the carrier group, the quantityof carriers of the carrier group, and each tag information of thecarrier group to the central control system.
 7. The dynamic storagedevice as claimed in claim 6, wherein the power transmission device is acrane.
 8. A dynamic access management method of the device as claimed inclaim 6, comprising: (Step 1) receiving a carrier group created by anobject collection process by the gate; (Step 2) detecting and sendingthe quantity of carriers contained in the carrier group of the gate tothe central control system by the gate detection device, and comparingthe quantity of carriers with a predetermined value by the centralcontrol system; (Step 3) instructing the power transmission device tomove the carrier group of the gate to the temporary storage area by thecentral control system if the quantity of carriers is less than thepredetermined value; instructing the power transmission device and thepower carrying and moving device by the central control system to movethe carrier group of the gate to an empty storage location specified bythe central control system if the quantity of carriers is equal to thepredetermined value; and issuing a warning message not to operate thepower carrying and moving device and the power transmission device bythe central control system until the extra carrier is removed if thequantity of carriers is greater than the predetermined value; and (Step4) sending and recording each tag information of the storage location tothe central control system by the carrier detection device afterreceiving the carrier group removed from the temporary storage area bythe empty storage location.
 9. An object retrieval method of the dynamicaccess management method as claimed in claim 6, comprising the steps of:(Step 1) searching each tag information of the storage area by thecentral control system according to an object retrieval conditioncontained in an object retrieval instruction; (Step 2) specifying astorage location of a carrier group matched with the object retrievalcondition by the central control system; (Step 3) controlling the powertransmission device and the power carrying and moving device by thecentral control system to take out a carrier group from the specifiedstorage location, and deleting the tag information of the storagelocation automatically when the carrier group leaves its storagelocation; (Step 4) controlling the power transmission device by thecentral control system to send the carrier group taken out from thestorage location to the gate, and taking out the carrier group from thegate or one or more carriers matched with the object retrieval conditionfrom the carrier group by an object retriever; (Step 5) instructing thepower transmission device by the central control system to move theremaining carrier to the temporary storage area after retrieving theobject, if the gate has a carrier not matched with the object retrievalcondition and not taken away; and (Step 6) receiving the remainingcarrier from the gate by the temporary storage area, and sending andrecording the carrier group with or without the temporary storage area,the quantity of carriers of the carrier group, and each tag informationof the carrier group to the central control system by the temporarystorage detection device.
 10. A temporary storage area management methodof the device as claimed in claim 6, comprising: (Step 1) randomlyselecting a carrier in the temporary storage area, and stacking thecarriers to a predetermined number to form a carrier group; (Step 2)instructing the power transmission device by the central control systemto move the carrier group of the temporary storage area to the gate, andthe carrier group leaving the temporary storage area, and removing thetag information of the carrier group from the temporary storage area;the gate detection device detecting and sending the quantity of carrierscontained in the carrier group and coming from the temporary storagearea to the central control system, and the central control systemcomparing the quantity of carriers with a predetermined value; (Step 3)instructing the power transmission device to return the carrier group ofthe gate to the temporary storage area by the central control system ifthe quantity of carriers is less than the predetermined value;instructing the power transmission device and the power carrying andmoving device by the central control system to send the carrier group ofthe gate to an empty storage location specified by the central controlsystem if the quantity of carriers is equal to the predetermined value;and issuing a warning message not to operate the power carrying andmoving device and the power transmission device by the central controlsystem until the extra carrier is removed if the quantity of carriers isgreater than the predetermined value; and (Step 4) sending and recordingeach tag information of the storage location to the central controlsystem by the carrier detection device after receiving the carrier groupremoved from the temporary storage area by the empty storage location.